Wrote this a long time ago. Too short for an article:
Perverted - Hentai in Japanese. But the word pervert means
deviation from normal or accepted. So, how can all guys be
perverts?

Did you ever notice that the sex scene in the movie is generally
at about the same realative place as the guitar solo in a song?

2009-07-27 Behind The Line - Traffic Ramblings
I've been noticing something pretty weird the last few years. I finally decided
to write something about it. Did you ever notice cars pulling up to a stop light
and staying several feet to a car length away from the limit line? Once I noticed
that this was happening I started seeing it all the time.

Is there some sort of reasoning behind this? Is it somehow safer? Are our drivers
becoming more timid, or is that just close enough as far as their driving
skills go. I have not yet seen any real corelation between types or ages of
drivers. When I learned to drive we were taught to go up to the limit line and
not exceed it. It wasn't a big deal so long as you got pretty close. But lately
I often feel like I'm being handicapped in a drag race. It definitely feels
weird.

There are only a couple of bad things that happen if you leave an extra car
length between you and the limit line and their not huge issues. The first is
that the traffic sensor doesn't know your there. These are the little lines in
the road just behind the limit line. If your car isn't over them then the computer
running the traffic light doesn't know to change the light. The second issue is
it creates longer traffic lines for everyone in heavy traffic. Your car is now
taking up two car lengths rather like a car occupying two parking spaces in a
parking lot.

Anyway I thought I should write about this particular weirdness.

I also think I'll mention a practice that I do understand but think is
reprehensible. So far I've called it skipping. Here's how it works. The freeway
is creeping along at 5mph or so during rush hour. So you take an off ramp, any
off ramp and then continue back on to matching on ramp. When you re-merge with
traffic you are now several car lengths ahead in the traffic.

This really doesn't surprise me. It's the do anything to get a little gain for
yourself. In short your trampling on the heads of others to get ahead. And what
great gain do you get? You get home 60 seconds earlier to click on the same
stupid TV shows that everyone else is fighting to get home to.

In general I try to leave work before or after rush hour. I find that they let
all the crazy people out at 5PM and they will do anything and everything in
order to beat each other home. Hmmm, if I kill someone I can shave 30 seconds off
my time. It's like their eyes glaze over and their brains disengage. So by and
far I'd just rather not deal with such inhumane behavior and even less so feel the
need to join in. If I am caught in traffic I just turn on the stereo and relax.
I'm not going anywhere fast and being upset about it is just going to shorten
my life and possibly someone else's.